Wind Advisory Extended In Maryland

MARYLAND — The National Weather Service extended a wind advisory until 2 p.m. Monday after it was set to expire at noon. Wind gusts up to 50 mph are possible during the advisory period.

After noon, officials reported thousands in Maryalnd were without power and at least one person was injured in a tent collapse.

At the Maryland State Fairgrounds, officials said a tent collapsed at an event involving horses and sent one person to the hospital after 11 a.m. All horses were reportedly unharmed.

During the wind advisory period, people should secure any loose objects that may be hazardous, such as decorations. Tree limbs may blow down and power outages are possible.

More than 14,000 BGE customers were without power after noon Monday, according to the utility company. Of those, the most were in Baltimore County, with more than 5,200 customer outages; Howard County, with nearly 3,400 outages; and Montgomery County, with more than 2,700 outages.

The National Weather Service issued the wind advisory Sunday night and Monday morning calling for gusts around 50 mph, with northwest winds from 20 to 30 mph, in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Cecil, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's and Washington counties and Baltimore City.

The following restrictions are in effect for area bridges as of 12:20 p.m., according to the Maryland Transportation Authority:

• The Bay Bridge and Key Bridge are under limited wind restrictions, meaning no house trailers or empty box trailers.
• Wind warnings are in effect at the Tydings, Hatem and Nice/Middleton bridges. This means due to winds of 30 to 39 mph, those driving the following should be extra careful while crossing: house trailers, box trailers, motorcycles, vehicles with roof-mount racks containing cargo or any other vehicle that may be subject to high winds.

"Secure loose items, especially any Halloween decorations," the Baltimore Firefighters Union IAFF Local 734 advised.

The union also cautioned boaters to remain in safe harbor and encouraged businesses with outdoor seating and tents to double-check plans for possibly taking them down.

The wind advisory applies to parts of Maryland as well as Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Here is the forecast for the Baltimore-Washington region from the National Weather Service: